Back at Last: Part One

So it has been some time since our last blog entry. Let's just say that the wonderful people in the country we live in have made accessing particular websites very difficult. With that, let's start sharing what we have been up to recently.

From December 12-30 we had our winter vacation from school. Adan really wanted to travel through Dongbei, the northeastern provinces of China, while Pazi was very much against it. The pros of traveling through this area are good food, tons of ancient history, beautiful landscapes, and best of all--snow for Christmas. The cons are kept to one simple thing--the cold. You see, the Dongbei is at or below zero degrees Celsius (32F) for the high. When you get up towards Russia and North Korea the temps become brutal, easily dropping thirty degrees.

After striking a deal, Pazi agreed to make this once in a lifetime trip. The condition for going up north was that she could chose the next vacation destination. It did not take her long to make a decision. For Chinese New Year we will be going to India. Adan has no qualms about it.

Starting in Qingdao
For this trip we decided to bring along our friend Bill once again to help us in tour guiding. He has traveled with us to a few other locations in China and has been of great value to us. After consulting with him, we arranged to begin our travels in Qingdao of Shandong province. Qingdao is a major seaport most famous for Tsingdao beer and hosting the sailing events for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. However, the truth is this city is very clean and filled with lots of German influence.

We arrived in Qingdao from Guangzhou by airplane. The flight lasted about three hours. We stayed in a nice small hotel near the Zhan Qiao Pier. Pazi immediately noticed a difference in weather and put on her heavy coat. Adan and Bill were okay with things until the wind picked up and it got much cooler. The first day was basically filled with wandering the streets soaking up the German architecture still present from the colonial period of the early twentieth century.

Our second day was spent at the Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center, walking the pier, and seeing European mansions in the Badaguan District. We were very impressed with the entire city. The sailing center has been converted into a historical site/yacht club and is very well maintained. The access given to the public is exceptional. Considering most things in China are kept off limits, this place is fun just for a stroll and taking in the views of the ocean. Lastly, the neighborhoods of old Qingdao are something to get lost in. We ended our day visiting Hua Shi Lou a miniature castle owned by a Russian aristocrat overlooking the Yellow Sea.

Moving on to Tai Shan
From Qingdao we decided to travel to the western part of Shandong province and visit Tai'an to see Tai Shan, one of China's five most sacred Taoist mountains. Luckily there is a high speed train that travels from Qingdao to Tai'an and it takes us just a six hour journey to get from one side of the province to the other. Upon arrival we could tell that this town was run down and did not see many foreigners.

Adan is a big fan of Confucius and learned that just one hour and thirty minutes south was Qufu, the birth place of the famous Chinese sage. The group decided to go here first and then return to Tai'an for visiting the famous mountain. It cost only 200 yuan ($29.00) to hire a full service driver for practically the whole day. The gentleman was very vocal and lucky for us he kept conversation to our friend Bill.

When we arrived at the town center it was obvious that travelers only visited this area for what we came to see. Nevetheless, we decided to walk the streets and get lost among the locals. This turned out to be a great experience. We located a snack alley and wandered our way around. The people were busy making dozens of Chinese snacks of sweets and salty treats. The most unique food we saw was Kong Zi Bing, Confucius Cake,several thin layers of rice wafers with seasoning. The taste was okay but nothing to brag about. Sampling the cake made us hungry so we decided to sit down and eat at a small hole in the wall restaurant. The place was very busy so we figured the food must've been decent. The meal turned out to be extraordinary and was the cheapest and best food during the entire trip. We ate hearty dishes of spicy soup filled with tofu and pork, sweet and sour chicken, and great vegetables like eggplant. Best of all, the food was brought by very hospitable servers pushing eighty years old!

After eating we made our way to the Confucius Temple. Inside this lengthy complex are memorial halls, pavilions, courtyards, and gateways filled with shrines to Confucius and his family. The centerpiece of the temple is the Great Achievements Hall with its twenty-eight marble columns of elaborately carved dragons. It is said that the carved dragons, because of their exquisite beauty, had to be concealed with silk whenever emperors came to visit so as to prevent imperial jealousy. Indeed, the detailed craftmanship of this location was something to marvel. There was also plenty of street vendors selling curios so we ended our day shopping for a bit.

The next day Adan and Bill eagerly got up to tackle Tai Shan. Pazi did not feel like spending the entire day hiking so she opted to stay inside where it was warm to read and drink tea. The excursion ended up being both a good and a bad experience. The number one positive of the trip definitely was the scenery. The views from the ascent were incredible. Even the fact that the hike was over 6,000 steps did not bother Adan and Bill. It was when they reached the top that everything fizzled. The temples constructed at the peak were merely mediocre and it didn't help that the clouds came in and made the views from above almost non-existent. Nevertheless, the experience trekking up the mountain was very rewarding, even if it took five and a half hours!

Time for Tianjin
Having hit all of our destination spots in Shandong province, we packed up our things and made our way to the train station bound for Tianjin, near the capital of Beijing. We were very fortunate to purchase overnight sleeper tickets. Traveling in China long distances can be very boring if done during the day. However, if planned right, it can be convenient and cost-saving to sleep while reaching the desired location. It took us eight hours but we arrived in Tianjin very early in the morning on December 16th.

Another thing that is nice in China is hotel check-in times. The desk attendants are always so accomodating to let you get in your hotel room so long as you pay everything up front. We were able to get up to our rooms and sleep at 8 a.m. Something like this is unheard of in the States. One thing is for sure, we are now in the north and it is much colder here (-5C, 23F).

We have to say that Tiajin was a pleasant surprise to us. Having lived in Beijing, many people shared with us that there was no need to travel here. Living in the shadows of the capital city can do that, but Tianjin is definitely worth a visit by travelers. Pazi thoroughly enjoyed this port city's European architecture from the concessions era, especially the Italian, German, and French buildings. Adan enjoyed how it all centered around the Hai River and although it was cold, saw this city as being a great site for spring travel.

The majority of our time was spent just roaming the streets, always finding something to captivate us. Other times we traveled to more tourist driven spots. One location that Pazi spent some major time shopping at was Gu Wen Hua Jie, Antique Culture Street. Here we spent several hours exploring shops with crafts and foods specific to Tianjin. Pazi bought some beautiful paper cuts of the famous Tianjin Opera Masks. We also sampled regional foods such as Gou Bu Li, steamed bun filled with meat, and Ma Hua, a twisted dough stick. We also visited a temple, Tian Hou, neatly nestled in the middle of this tourism district. Other spots of interest included several Christian churches from the early 1900s not only intact but still in use, and Tianjin's Antique Market. The market is really a two block area of vendors selling anything from old record players to Buddha figures to Mao paintings. Due cold weather many of the shops were closed. We imagined the market in the heat of summer and how packed the streets must be when collectors and shopkeepers are out in full force.